


Dare To Touch

by cottonpadenthusiast



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Harry Potter & Ron Weasley Friendship, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Oblivious!Harry, Pansy is just done with their mutual pining and takes matters into her hands, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 10:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15638673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottonpadenthusiast/pseuds/cottonpadenthusiast
Summary: Harry doesn't have a crush on Malfoy, despite the rumours. He just likes him as a friend! But with a game of truth or dare, everything can change, especially with Pansy involved. Everything changes for Harry with one simple question: Truth Or Dare?





	Dare To Touch

“I think my eyes are bleeding,” Ron groaned as Seamus and Dean snogged shamelessly to the cheers of the common room. It was a Friday night in the eighth year common room, and the game of Truth or Dare was in full swing. The room was alive with laughter and chatter, and the moon shone through the tall windows, illuminating the excited figures of the students. 

“You should be the one enjoying this. If I remember correctly, it was  _you_  who dragged  _me_  from my dorm where I was doing homework,” Harry retorted, however, it wasn’t  _really_  true. He was more likely to dive into the Great Lake, dressed as a fish, than finish that Potions essay.  

“If the two Gryffindors would kindly remove their mouths from each other, I would like to take my turn,” Pansy smirked, a cunning glint in her eye. Harry’s eyes wandered across the nervous faces of the students to land on the pale face of Draco Malfoy. The blonde was dressed in a navy woollen sweater and black leggings, his platinum hair tucked behind his ears and his cheeks rosy from the warmth of the room. The two smiled at each other. Harry had formed an unusual friendship with Draco since Halloween, when he had found the blonde mid-panic attack in an abandoned corridor. After Harry had helped Draco calm down, the two began to talk. And they didn’t stop until they felt the sun’s warmth on their cheeks and their eyelids heavy as a new day began. Barely a day passed where they hadn’t spoken since then and Harry now relied on Draco for things he couldn’t dream of discussing with Ron or Hermione. He didn’t realise how much he needed Draco until he tumbled into his life, filling an emptiness in Harry that he never known existed.

Draco had been providing sarcastic comments throughout the whole game, the only time he was silenced was when he was dared to kiss Ron. Neither participants had yet seemed to recover from the dare. Harry grinned at Draco, as the blonde mimed vomiting while pointing to Ron, before glancing back to Pansy.

The common room was silent as Pansy’s eyes roamed the room before landing on Harry. Her smirk grew. This couldn’t be good. Her brown eyes then glanced to Malfoy and she looked practically gleeful.  _Oh no. Ohnonononono._ Harry had already heard enough about his apparent “crush” on Malfoy from Ron and Hermione over the past few months, and he did  _not_ need Pansy adding fuel to the flame. Not that he had a crush, obviously. Everywhere Harry went with Draco they were surrounded by whispers and rumours of a secret relationship, but neither had brought it up. Harry assumed Draco thought the rumours as stupid as he did. Harry didn’t have feelings for Draco and Harry knew Draco didn’t have feelings for him. It was as simple as that.

“Harry.” Harry looked up from where he had been boring his eyes into the ground, begging Pansy to somehow forget he existed. His heart was hammering in his chest. “Truth or Dare?”

What should he do? He knew the dare would include Malfoy in some manner but he also knew that anyone who had chosen Truth from Pansy had been forced to reveal some of their deepest secrets, thanks to the stolen bottle of Veritaserum each participant had been forced to take. He didn’t have a crush on Draco to miraculously reveal so Truth would be the safer option. But what if she asked something else, something about his past with the Dursleys or how Sirius died? He couldn’t deal with that either.

“Dare,” Harry eventually replied.

Ron nudged his side. “What are you bloody _thinking?_ ” The ginger hissed.

Pansy grinned widely. “Good choice, Potter.” The common room was silent in suspense, the only sound Harry’s thumping heart in his chest, as Pansy held the attention of the room. I dare you to…”  _please not kiss Draco,_ Harry begged internally _. Please not kiss Draco, please not kiss Draco, please kiss Draco… wait what?_! “Not to talk to or touch Draco for one full day.”

Harry’s heart stopped. “ _What_?”

“I dare you not to talk to or touch Draco for a day,” she repeated. “Starting from 1:24, which is the time exact right now, and ending at the same time tomorrow. Draco, to make it easier, you aren’t allowed to speak to Potter either.”

“But this isn’t my dare!” Malfoy protested.

“Draco, I think you will want to go along with this one.” Pansy glared at the blonde, her words holding a deeper meaning. Draco rolled his eyes before agreeing to go along with the dare.

“But…” Harry’s mind grappled to find a trick, some sort of way to catch him out as the common room giggled around him. It seemed… easy. It might be strange not to talk to Draco for a day but it wouldn’t be that  _hard._ He would just have to avoid him in the corridors and the Great Hall. Nothing horrendous. “…that seems simple.”

Pansy arched an eyebrow from opposite Harry. “Oh really? Well, Potter, we will just have to see how simple it is. Oh and just so you know, if you even utter a word to Draco, I will personally destroy everything you hold dear.” Her face went dark and serious and Harry knew with certainty that this was not an empty threat. He gulped.

Harry glanced over at Draco to see the same confused expression mirrored on the pale face. Harry was about to comment on the absolute weirdness of Pansy’s dare when he remembered. He couldn’t talk to Malfoy. As Harry met Pansy’s gaze, a victories look in her brown eyes, Harry realised this was going to be harder than he had thought.

 

Harry plonked himself down between Hermione and Neville in the Great Hall, the smell of toast and porridge making him instantly hungry. He barely said “good morning” before grabbing food from the platter and stuffing his face. A part of him was still not used to receiving this much food after ten years with the Dursleys.

“Harry, I swear you are nearly as bad as Ron,” Hermione stated, a slightly disgusted look on her face as Harry bit into his fifth slice of toast.

Ron looked up from the opposite side of the table, where he had just gone onto his third round of food. “Hey!”

“What? It’s not like you can deny it.”

“I need to eat. I’m a growing boy.”

“More like a greedy one.”

Harry laughed. “Ron if you don’t stop eating, you’ll be the size of Hagrid.”

“You know what,” Ron stated, slamming his fist on the table,” I will not stand for this bullying behaviour.”

“Don’t worry, mate. You can’t stand anyway. The weight of all ’at food will pull you down,” Seamus interjected, causing a burst of laughter from the group.

Harry’s attention was pulled away from the commotion as Draco sat down opposite, with Blaise close behind. Harry grinned.

“Morning-“ Harry stopped.  _Shit_. He wasn’t meant to talk to Draco. He had forgotten about the dare in his flurry to grab as much food as humanly possible. “…Blaise,” Harry recovered, pointedly looking at Blaise and plastering a fake smile on his face.

Blaise looked up, seemingly surprised by the greeting but then smirked when he realised what had happened. “Morning, Potter. It seems someone nearly forgot about the dare.” Harry blushed. It was only the beginning and he had nearly messed it up. If he didn’t want to be the victim of Pansy’s wrath, he needed to get a grip and quick.

Harry glanced a look at Draco, whose face was slightly flushed but was smiling with amusement at the dark haired boy. Harry was certain his face now matched the dark red of his school robes.

“Good morning, Hermione. Hello, Hagrid-oh wait, it’s you, Ronald. I mistook you for Hagrid. I must say, there is a striking resemblance,” Draco said slyly, smirking as Ron shouted insults at him and the table for laughing.

Harry didn’t dare to laugh along with Malfoys joke. He didn’t trust himself. This was already proving to be much harder than Harry had anticipated.

For the rest of breakfast, Harry faced Hermione, never turning once to the blonde near him. Instinct begged him to look, just once, at Draco, but he couldn’t give in. Not at the start. Not when there seemed to be more than just his safety at stake.

 

Harry’s first class of the day was DADA, which, thankfully, Draco didn’t take. Things seemed to be going smoother and Harry began to think that the day wasn’t going to be too bad after all. However, Harry’s main worry was free periods. The two friends always went to the eighth year common room during their free periods together, when everyone else was in class and the common room was empty, apart from a few students milling around. It was Harry’s favourite time of the day and his heart squeezed painfully when he realised he wouldn’t be able to lie on the sofa near the fireplace, watching as Draco told a dramatic story, like he usually did. Harry loved watching Draco’s hands flail about and how every word went along with a facial expression and how they both usually ended up laughing on the floor together. Harry thought Draco looked the most gorgeous in those moments. It didn’t mean he felt anything for him though. It was just an observation. Everyone knew Draco was good-looking. 

As Harry sauntered through the doorway to Potions, his mind wandering, a blob of blonde caught his eye.  _Oh, Merlin. Why do I do this to myself?_  In his concern over how to spend his free period, Harry had completely forgotten that Draco was in his Potions class. And that hey sat at the same table. And that they were partners.  _Wonderful_.

Harry quickly sat down, ignoring Draco’s presence entirely and by the quiet from the other boy, Draco seemed to be doing the same thing. The two boys sat in an awkward silence, while the rest of the class chatted around them. Harry was startled at the sadness he felt for being so close to Draco, yet unable to utter a single word to the boy. It almost felt like he was grieving him.

Slughorn entered the classroom. “Quiet, everyone.  _Quiet._ Today you are going to be brewing Fire-Breathing Potion with the help of your partner. All the ingredients and directions are listed on the board. This is an extremely volatile potion, so you must be very careful. You may begin.”

Harry groaned. This was not going to end well. How was he meant to brew a potion when he couldn’t even talk to his partner? Harry spun around when he heard a pointed cough from behind him. Draco had all the ingredients in his arms and was nodding towards the cauldron.

“Oh.” Harry swiftly set a flame underneath, before reaching for the ingredients in Draco’s arms, careful not to touch the other boy. He set them down in front of him, before grabbing the mint and began chopping.

 _Cough._  Draco was again glaring at Harry, while pointing to the first instruction. “No.1- Chop the mint into strips.” Harry glanced down at the chopped mint in front of him, before giving Draco a confused look, unsure of what he was doing wrong. Draco rolled his eyes and reached for Harry’s tanned hands. Harry knew that Draco was about to grab his hands and show him how he was meant to do it like he always did when Harry messed up. However, the blonde’s hands stopped, hovering closely over Harry’s own as he remembered the rule of the dare. No touching. Draco sighed, before pulling away, taking the mint along with him.

As Draco began slicing the mint into thinner strips, Harry wondered why he wasn’t more relieved. Draco could have messed everything up by touching him, but a part of Harry thought that maybe Draco touching him wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe it would have been worth it.

 

The bell rang and Harry sighed, relief filling him. The rest of the lesson hadn’t gone well, to say the least. The potion had ended up being a foggy brown, instead of the bright, fiery red it was meant to be, and Harry had received more glares from Draco in one hour than in the last year. What made matters worse, almost everytime a scathing look was sent in his direction, all Harry wanted to do was whisper one of their shared jokes or make fun of one of their classmates just to make Draco smile. More than once, Harry had the strange urge to reach across and run his thumb between he blonde brows, easing away the small creases between them. This dare really was messing up his brain.

Harry began packing his bag, the class filtering out around him, as he wondered whether to go to the Quidditch Pitch during his free. Suddenly, he became acutely aware of Draco hovering close beside him, as the silence of the classroom hung close around them. Harry slowly lifted his gaze to Draco, who was staring intently at Harry. Something heavy and alive filled the air around them, and it was nothing to do with the Potions’ fumes. Harry found himself leaning closer, closer to Draco, his heartbeat speeding up rapidly, until Draco looked away, shattering the moment. The blonde nodded his head towards the door and walked out. 

As Harry followed behind, his body still buzzing from the tension, he tried to dismiss the moment from his mind, telling himself it was just a trick of his imagination, it didn’t matter. But if it didn’t matter, then why did Harry feel like it held something important, something neither of them could grasp?

 

Harry trudged behind Draco as they entered the empty common room. Harry planted himself on the sofa where Draco was seated, sitting dangerously close to the blonde, but neither moved away. The blonde was staring intently at the floor, as Harry fidgeted awkwardly beside him. Harry had thought the silence and Draco’s presence would soothe his nerves, the way it usually did, but Harry felt strangely nervous. The moment from earlier still hung in the air around them and neither would, or  _could_ , talk about it. It was agony.

Harry glanced at the melancholy figure beside him. His eyes traced the soft, blonde hair, the long, black eyelashes and the small curve of Draco’s nose. Harry’s gaze landed on rosy lips, and his breathing hitched. He couldn’t look away and he didn’t want to, as he realised how beautiful Draco was and how had he not noticed this before?

Harry’s mind was whirring, grasping to find an explanation for everything he was feeling and  _wanting,_ when his gaze dropped to the pale hand, inches from his own. And without thinking, without even considering the dare that had caused everything leading up to this, Harry slowly inched his hand closer to Draco’s. He gently brushed his pinky against the pale one, partly to test the waters, and partly to remind himself that this was real. That this moment, and this want, was real.

Draco stopped breathing. Harry waited for the confusion, the anger, the refusal. What he didn’t expect was for those long elegant fingers to wrap around his own. Nor did he expect to feel like his whole body was on fire from one simple touch.

 _What is going on? Do I… like, Draco?_  Harry thought, before realising that he already knew the answer. He had known the answer for a while, he just wasn’t ready to see it.

Harry glimpsed at Draco to see that the other man was watching him intently. Grey eyes flashed, reminding Harry of a long-awaited thunderstorm, as he moved closer and closer to Draco, all regard for the dare now forgotten.

“Harry,” Draco whispered, voice full of want and longing, shattering the silence that had been suffocating them for so long. Harry couldn’t wait any longer, he had already waited long enough for this, for  _him._  He pushed his lips against Draco’s and the world crumbled.

Harry kissed Draco in the way he had somehow wanted to for a long, long time. Draco’s hands curled into the black curls, as their two hearts hammered in their chests, and Harry wondered how he had not realised, not known, that this had been waiting for him. He reached up and brushed Draco’s cheek, as his other arm wrapped tightly around his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, as they pulled away, their breath ragged and hearts pounding.

Draco brushed a lock of Harry’s from his eyes. “Why? What for?”

“For not realising earlier about… this. About us.” Harry couldn’t meet Draco’s gaze, embarrassment for his own stupidity flushing his cheeks.

“Oh, Harry. That isn’t your fault. Sometimes with feelings, people can be a bit… oblivious. You don’t need to apologise.” Draco pressed light kisses to Harry’s forehead. Harry tried to hide the grin that was spreading across his face.

“Thank fucking Merlin! I was beginning to think Harry was more stupid than I had thought.” Pansy slammed open the common room door, causing Harry to practically leap into Draco’s lap, as the rest of the eighth years filtered through.

“Yeah, Harry. You lasted longer than any of us expected, to be honest,” Dean added, Hermione and Ron by his side.

Blaise sauntered over, leaning against the chair opposite. “You didn’t touch or talk to Draco for exactly eleven hours and fifty-three minutes, to be precise. I was betting on the seven-hour mark. I suppose I overestimated your intelligence  _and_ Draco’s patience.”

“Wait… everyone was in on this?” Harry asked, glancing at each of his friends.

“Obviously, Harry. We were sick of watching you both pining after each other, but never actually doing anything. Pansy came up with the idea of the no-touching-or-talking thing. You are always playing with Draco’s hair and hugging him and  _always_ talking with him, it seemed taking that away would be the best way for you to realise by yourself how much of a crush you have on him.”

The pair blushed, as their friends laughed around them. Harry buried his head into Draco’s shoulder. “Can you please tell everyone I am no longer talking to them? And that they are all big bullies,” Harry said, causing another round of laughter.

“You may call us bullies, but we are the ones who just ended your single life, Potter. However, as punishment for not going through with the dare, both of you are banished to Potter’s bedroom for an hour, where no one is allowed to disturb you,” Pansy announced, a conspiring glint in her eyes.

Harry glanced to Draco, his smirk mirrored on the blonde’s face, before grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs towards the dormitories, stopping to kiss him as they reached the corridor. 

Harry might not have been able to touch Draco for over ten hours, but as they tumbled into his bedroom, he promised himself that he would make up for all the lost time. And now seemed as good a time as ever. 


End file.
